The Pelicans' situation has been unstable ever since the franchise relocated from Charlotte in 2002, and especially since Katrina. This excruciating state of limbo unfortunately defines the Pelicans. It's difficult to say where they belong.

You get the sense Ralph Sampson, if he had been designed by NASA engineers rather than a cruel god, still would have ended up as one of the great Yeah, But guys of his generation: an immensely gifted, lightly snakebitten antecedent to Vince Carter and Chris Webber.

That Murray contract isn't looking good - after he had a disappointing season. Btw, Mudiay signed for chump change with Utah. I think people are sleeping on his potential. I would have targeted him as someone to pick up in the bargain free agent bin.

"Look, you never know when you may need to borrow a cup of sugar, maybe some milk or a handgun" - Dan C. from Texas

I think inconsistent would be a better way to describe Jamal last season. Not sure I'd go so far as to call it a disappointment. Even during the POR series he mostly played well in their three wins.

And Bledsoe (don't want to trade him tho) next to Murray would be an interesting experiment. Murray at SG might be a 22-25ppg guy playing off Bled, akin to a super-charged Brogdon if you will. Defensively would obviously be another story.

I think it's fine to bet on Murray given their situation and his shooting at a young age. You assume he'll improve as he matures and either his shot selection improves or he just becomes such a good shot-maker that it doesn't matter what kind of shot he's taking.

NY Daily News wrote:Eddy Curry claims he slept for only two hours Sunday night because he couldn't stop thinking about ghosts.

I’m very curious about the internal evaluation process of Bledsoe’s brain. You obviously can’t replicate the highest stakes playoff series throughout the regular season. Bled played well against Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith, decent against a quitting on his team Kyrie Irving and we know the rest. How can anyone be confident he won’t he fall victim to what we’ve seen for two consecutive years under different staffs? It’s not just that he’s “bad.” He’s looked like Ryan McDonough was doing treacherous things to his Voodoo doll.

I think Bledsoe's problem is easier to fix than a guy who just doesn't have the goods or who doesn't care.

There was an article in 2011 after the Heatles lost in their first year together about LeBron's choking. The original link is dead but somebody on nbadraft.net was kind enough to repost in its entirety. I think it speaks with more specificity to the kind of issues Bledsoe is having.

So what's the best way to overcome this? How can LeBron James turn back into the fourth-quarter beast he used to be? Move on and forget the 2011 NBA Finals ever happened?

Nope. Davis says the best way to erase the past is to dwell on it. Watch the failure again and again and again on tape until it evokes zero emotional response. Watch the disaster until you're so numb to it that it feels like someone else is doing the failing.

"I've worked with too many athletes who say, 'Screw it, it's a bad game,' ” Davis says. "Some people will get away with 'Forget about it.' But most athletes will find that's a bad idea. They haven't got past the emotional experience."

I always was and continue to be pretty high on Murray (Celtics should have taken him 3rd in that draft), but that's a hell of a lot of money to give him, especially when, like the McCollum situation in POR, there was absolutely no urgency to get that deal done on Denver's part.

I'm of a mind that if you have somebody you want to keep, you don't play those kinds of games with them. Also, if he really blows up, the upside is that you now have three additional contracted years that you wouldn't have if he signed a 2+1 in RFA.

NY Daily News wrote:Eddy Curry claims he slept for only two hours Sunday night because he couldn't stop thinking about ghosts.

THE KEY MAN: Giannis Antetokounmpo. What, you thought I was going to say Eric Bledsoe? The league MVP was a Hulk at both ends of the floor in leading Milwaukee to 60 regular season wins. But the expectations will be even higher for the 24-year-old superstar this season. With Kawhi Leonard gone from Toronto, the East is wide open, and the Greek Freak is the best player in the conference, if not the league.

Everyone tried to build a wall in front of him all season, but the Raptors succeeded in the Eastern finals, holding him below 45 percent shooting from the floor. The Klaw had a lot to do with that, of course, but other teams will try it again in the playoffs. Antetokounmpo will have to do better both behind the arc (.327 in the playoffs last season) and from the line; even though he got to the line more than 11 times a game in the postseason, he didn’t make opponents pay, shooting just 63 percent.

THE SKINNY: I am Team Bucks going forward just for the Lopez Brothers alone. They should provide nightly entertainment on and off the floor playing together for the first time since they were at Stanford. There is also the older Antetokounmpo brother, who won hardware of some importance this past season, returning to terrorize the rest of the NBA. This is not to discount the impact of losing Brogdon, and especially to their Central rival Pacers. His absence will be felt. But Milwaukee kept its losses to a minimum through roster maneuvering last season that allowed the Bucks to comfortably stretch this summer to re-sign Middleton and Brook Lopez.

When you’re an elite team you can’t keep all of your good players. Vets like Korver and Matthews will help win their share of games, further extending a bench already full of talented role players like Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton. GM Jon Horst is to be commended for good planning and good execution to keep the train rolling in Brew Town.

THE KEY MAN: Giannis Antetokounmpo. What, you thought I was going to say Eric Bledsoe? The league MVP was a Hulk at both ends of the floor in leading Milwaukee to 60 regular season wins. But the expectations will be even higher for the 24-year-old superstar this season. With Kawhi Leonard gone from Toronto, the East is wide open, and the Greek Freak is the best player in the conference, if not the league.

Everyone tried to build a wall in front of him all season, but the Raptors succeeded in the Eastern finals, holding him below 45 percent shooting from the floor. The Klaw had a lot to do with that, of course, but other teams will try it again in the playoffs. Antetokounmpo will have to do better both behind the arc (.327 in the playoffs last season) and from the line; even though he got to the line more than 11 times a game in the postseason, he didn’t make opponents pay, shooting just 63 percent.

THE SKINNY: I am Team Bucks going forward just for the Lopez Brothers alone. They should provide nightly entertainment on and off the floor playing together for the first time since they were at Stanford. There is also the older Antetokounmpo brother, who won hardware of some importance this past season, returning to terrorize the rest of the NBA. This is not to discount the impact of losing Brogdon, and especially to their Central rival Pacers. His absence will be felt. But Milwaukee kept its losses to a minimum through roster maneuvering last season that allowed the Bucks to comfortably stretch this summer to re-sign Middleton and Brook Lopez.

When you’re an elite team you can’t keep all of your good players. Vets like Korver and Matthews will help win their share of games, further extending a bench already full of talented role players like Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton. GM Jon Horst is to be commended for good planning and good execution to keep the train rolling in Brew Town.

Good article from Aldridge, but the second to last sentence kind of threw me - focusing on Sterling Brown for the bench loaded with talent? I buy Connaughton, but I think Brown has shown very little in the NBA. The loss of Mirotic seems to get overlooked. We gave up a lifetime supply of 2nd rounders for him.

"Look, you never know when you may need to borrow a cup of sugar, maybe some milk or a handgun" - Dan C. from Texas

Love to somehow get one of the Spurs young guards. One of Murray, White or Walker and DeRozan for Middleton. Then let DeRozan walk in FA and go after Hield in FA. Half joking but do love Whites game and Murray's D/still untapped ceiling. Also think Walker has the highest potential of the three especially offensively.

Chuck Diesel wrote:Good for Darvin. He’s long overdue for a head coaching gig.

Was impressed with how resilient and cohesive his characteristically non-talented Bucks' SL team was.

Roster have any impact on that as well? Possibly a positive feedback loop. From the top down. It did not feel as thoughtful under Hammond and Kidd. They are headed in the right direction. Better Coach (Bud) helps better GM’ing decisions, which trickles down to assistant coaches and your summer league/G league rosters. Then back upstream again.

I think they are still in the early stages of a real player development program but I feel more optimistic about the direction of this team and offseason than I did a month or so ago. Progress to me.

"Oh, you're Boy Scouts, but you know life. You know life. So -- look at you." - #45

Chuck Diesel wrote:I’m very curious about the internal evaluation process of Bledsoe’s brain. You obviously can’t replicate the highest stakes playoff series throughout the regular season. Bled played well against Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith, decent against a quitting on his team Kyrie Irving and we know the rest. How can anyone be confident he won’t he fall victim to what we’ve seen for two consecutive years under different staffs? It’s not just that he’s “bad.” He’s looked like Ryan McDonough was doing treacherous things to his Voodoo doll.

The Bucks will give Hasheem Thabeet a shot at returning to the NBA, tweets Ben Stinar of Amico Hoops. A league source tells Stinar that Thabeet has a workout scheduled next week in Milwaukee. He adds that the veteran center has been training heavily over the past year and has gotten comments about his “great shape” from several NBA teams.

AND:

The Bucks have one roster opening heading into next month’s training camp and could give Thabeet an opportunity if he has an impressive workout. Milwaukee has 16 players under contract (14 with fully guaranteed deals), along with a pair of two-way players and the expected signing of Rayjon Tucker.

"I'm not going to hit the ground running, I'm going to hit the ground like a rocket ship"